2 December 2010. | Source: B92
Belgrade – In the first ten months, 53 persons were identified as trafficking victims in Serbia and criminal reports were filed against 72 persons. UN: Fight against human trafficking must be global.
Special UN Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children visited Belgrade at the invitation of local anti-trafficking organization ASTRA.
The data were presented at the press conference on the occasion of marking the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery and the 10th anniversary of the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, especially Women and Children said that all countries in the world are affected by human trafficking and hence the fight against this organized crime must be global too.
Ms. Ezeilo stressed the significance of work on the integration of victims after they got out of the slave-like position. She confirmed that the number of minors who were falling victim to trafficking was growing both Serbia and at the global level; men had become increasingly vulnerable lately.
“Demand for cheap labor is growing because companies seeking to multiply their profits prefer to hire cheaper workers. Also, due to the crisis, people are losing their jobs and out of despair they are traveling to other counters in search of new employment opportunities. In this way, they are falling victims to trafficking and something which starts as migrants smuggling ends as human trafficking and slave-like position”, said Ms. Ezeilo
“Children are also increasingly exposed to both labour and sexual exploitation. We therefore encourage governments to introduce early warning systems as soon as a child has been reported missing, in order to increase chances for missing children to be found before they become victims”, said the UN Special Rapporteur.